The present perfect is a
very difficult area of English grammar for many learners, and so we are going
to look at it one step at a time. Here, we consider the form of the tense and
its basic uses.
The present perfect is
formed using the appropriate form of the verb have + the past participle of the
verb.
We use the present
perfect to express the idea that although an action or state happened (or
started to happen) in the past, it has some connection with the present. It may
be that the (present) result of the action is more important than the action
itself. Alternatively, we may be inferring that the action is important, but
the time when it occurred is not.
There are four principle
uses of the present perfect:
Unfinished actions or
states: actions or states that began in the past and continue in the present.
Unfinished time periods
Past action or state /
present result
Action more important
than time
When
should I use the present perfect simple (I have eaten)
Structure
Present
perfect simple:
has/have + past participle
I have taken this English exam 3 times.
Present
perfect simple – uses to talk about a period of time up to the present:
I have worked here for over 10 years now.
To talk about something that happened in the (very) recent past:
My Auntie has just had a baby.
To talk about our experiences:
I’ve been to New York but I’ve never
been to LA.
It is often used with already, just, yet, ever and since.
For
more information about all of these uses of the present perfect, see the
following web sites:
http://english-zone.com/verbs/prsperf1.html
http://english-zone.com/verbs/prsperf2.html
http://english-zone.com/verbs/prsperf3.html
There are two types of
verb - regular and irregular - and it is when using the past simple (as well as
the past participle) that this is important. Regular verbs are formed by adding
"-ed" to the end of the base verb, or simply "-d" if the
base verb ends in the letter "e". (For two spelling exceptions, see
below):
Affirmative
Negative
Question
Irregular verbs are just
that - irregular - and it is only possible to learn them by memorisation and
practice. See the following web site for a list of irregular verbs:
http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/verbs.htm
Spelling
exceptions
See previous articles
for verbs that double
the consonant at the end and others that end in the
letter y.
Pronunciation
The
"-ed" ending of regular verbs in the past simple can be pronounced in
three different ways:
It is pronounced /d/
after vowels and voiced consonants:
It is pronounced /t/
after unvoiced
consonants:
It is pronounced /id/
after /d/ and /t/:
Use
Basically, the past
simple can be considered the "normal" tense to use when speaking
about the past. In other words, you should use it unless you have a particular
reason for using one of the other past tenses.
We use the past simple
when we are referring to moments and periods of time that have already
finished, especially if we actually mention the time. These moments and periods
can be short actions that ended quickly, but also longer periods and also
actions or events that were repeated:
I
went to the cinema every weekend when I was a teenager.
More information about
the past simple:
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/Tenses9.cfm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
Resources:
Articles and
Situations a Articles and situations
b
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